- Windows 1.0
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Windows 1.0 Part of the Microsoft Windows family 
Screenshot of Windows 1.01 Developer Microsoft Releases Release date 20 November 1985[info] Current version 1.04 (April 1987)[info] Source model Closed source License Commercial software Succeeded by Windows 2.0 Support status Mainstream support ended on 31 December 2001. Did not have extended support.[1] Windows 1.0 is a 16-bit graphical operating environment, developed by Microsoft and released on 20 November 1985.[2] It was Microsoft's first attempt to implement a multi-tasking graphical user interface-based operating environment on the PC platform. Windows 1.0 was the first version of Windows launched. It was succeeded by Windows 2.0 and support was discontinued on 31 December 2001.
Contents
History
Windows 1.0 was first released on 20 November 1985. Version 1.02, released in May 1986, was international and was available in several[which?] European languages. Version 1.03, released in August 1986 included enhancements that made it consistent with the international release. It included drivers for European keyboards and additional screen and printer drivers. Version 1.04, released in April 1987, added support for the VGA graphics adapters of the new IBM PS/2 computers.[citation needed] At the same time, Microsoft and IBM announced the introduction of OS/2 and its graphical OS/2 Presentation Manager, which were supposed to ultimately replace both MS-DOS and Windows.[3]
In November 1987, Windows 1.0 was succeeded by Windows 2.0. Microsoft supported Windows 1.0 for sixteen years, until 31 December 2001.[1]
Competition
The history of Windows dates back to September 1981, when the project named "Interface Manager" was started. It was first presented to the public on 10 November 1983, renamed to "Microsoft Windows"; the two years of delay before release led to charges that it was "vaporware". The initially announced version of Windows had features so much resembling the Macintosh interface that Microsoft had to change many of them: overlapping windows, although supported by the GUI engine, weren't allowed for exactly this reason. The announcement of Windows' imminent arrival in 1985 probably did not help the sales of VisiCorp's VisiOn environment which debuted at the same time. However, even when finally released, Windows 1.0 aroused little interest.
Another GUI for the PC platform at the time was GEM. It used more aspects from the Macintosh GUI, for example the trash can concept (which Microsoft would later employ in future Windows releases) and more generally the desktop interaction. GEM was eventually used as the standard GUI for the Atari's ST range of 68k-based computers, which were sometimes referred to as Jackintoshes (the company being run by Jack Tramiel). GEM was also included in the Amstrad PC1512, probably the first 8086 based PC targeted at the home consumer and sold alongside TV's and washing machines at appliance stores. GEM's resemblance to the Mac OS later caused legal trouble for the manufacturer, Digital Research, who was obliged to seriously cripple the desktop's appearance and functionality (applications were not affected).
GEM was relying on multitasking of the OS under it (non-existing in DOS on that time), so users had to close one program in order to run another one. Collections of related programs, like GEM Draw, had confusing File menu items like Close (to Edit) to facilitate switching.
An alternative multitasker released shortly before was Quarterdeck's DESQview, modeled after but more memory-economical and versatile than IBM's failed TopView from 1984. It did not have graphical capabilities initially, but is able to multitask DOS applications in windows as long as they are well-behaved or have a specially written "loader" to fix them on the fly.
Windows 1.0 market share grew very slowly. Early Windows versions of Microsoft Excel and other Windows applications were bundled with a runtime version of Windows, presumably to both increase sales of the applications and allow users to "test drive" Windows at no additional cost.
The Macintosh remained the platform of choice especially for high-end graphics and desktop publishing (DTP). Although Aldus PageMaker shipped in January 1987 with a Windows executable, it remained a curiosity due to poor support relative to the Mac version, and a steep $795 price tag.
Other shell programs for MS-DOS include Norton Commander, PC Tools, XTree. DOS Shell, and DOS Menu (in MS-DOS version 4.0). These applications attempted to be organizational and menu-driven tools, and did not try at all to be a 'desktop' shell.
Features
Windows 1.0 offers limited multitasking of existing MS-DOS programs and concentrates on creating an interaction paradigm (cf. message loop), an execution model and a stable API for native programs for the future. Due to Microsoft's extensive support for backward compatibility, it is not only possible to execute Windows 1.0 binary programs on current versions of Windows to a large extent, but also to recompile their source code into an equally functional "modern" application with just limited modifications.[4]
Windows 1.0 is often regarded as a "front-end to the MS-DOS operating system", a description which has also been applied to subsequent versions of Windows. Windows 1.0 is an MS-DOS program. Windows 1.0 programs can call MS-DOS functions, and GUI programs are run from .exe files just like MS-DOS programs. However, Windows .exe files had their own "new executable" (NE) file format, which only Windows could process and which, for example, allowed demand-loading of code and data. Applications were supposed to handle memory only through Windows' own memory management system, which implemented a software-based virtual memory scheme allowing for applications larger than available RAM.
Because graphics support in MS-DOS is extremely limited, MS-DOS applications have to go to the bare hardware (or sometimes just to the BIOS) to get work done. Therefore, Windows 1.0 included original device drivers for video cards, a mouse, keyboards, printers and serial communications, and applications were supposed to only invoke APIs built upon these drivers. However, this extended to other APIs such as file system management functions. In this sense, Windows 1.0 was designed to be extended into a full-fledged operating system, rather than being just a graphics environment used by applications. Indeed, Windows 1.0 is a "DOS front-end" and cannot operate without a DOS environment (it uses, for example, the file-handling functions provided by DOS.) The level of replacement increases in subsequent versions.
The system requirements for Windows 1.01 constituted CGA/HGC/EGA (listed as "Monochrome or color monitor"), MS-DOS 2.0, 256 kB of memory or greater, and two double-sided disk drives or a hard drive.[5]
Windows 1.0 runs a shell program known as MS-DOS Executive. Other supplied programs are Calculator, Calendar, Cardfile, Clipboard viewer, Clock, Notepad, Paint, Reversi, Terminal, and Write.
Windows 1.0 does not allow overlapping windows. Instead all windows are tiled. Only dialog boxes can appear over other windows.
Windows 1.0 executables, while having the same .exe extension and initial file header as MS-DOS programs, do not contain the so-called MS-DOS stub which prints the "This program requires Microsoft Windows" message and exits when the program is run outside of Windows. Instead, the file header was formatted in such a way as to make DOS reject the executable with a "program too large to fit in memory" error message.[citation needed]
From the beginning, Windows was intended to multitask programs (although this originally only applied to native applications and for many versions the multitasking was co-operative, rather than preemptive).
Pre-release versions had menus at the bottom of windows, as it was used in Microsoft applications, such as Word and Multiplan of that era; however, this was changed before the first release.
See also
- Comparison of file managers
- VM/386
References
- ^ a b "Obsolete Products". Microsoft Support. Microsoft Corporation. 25 July 2011. http://support.microsoft.com/gp/lifeobsoleteproducts. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
- ^ Chaitanya Sareen (20 November 2008). "The Windows 7 Taskbar". Microsoft. http://blogs.msdn.com/e7/archive/2008/11/20/happy-anniversary-windows-on-the-evolution-of-the-taskbar.aspx. Retrieved 4 September 2009.
- ^ http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/history
- ^ Nathan Lineback (October 2007). "Misc. Windows Screen Shots". Graphical User Interface Gallery. http://toastytech.com/guis/misc.html. Retrieved 4 September 2009.
- ^ http://support.microsoft.com/kb/32905
External links
Microsoft Windows family DOS-Based Windows 9x Windows NT Early versions[α]Client releasesWindows XP (editions [x64 · Media Center] · development) · Windows Vista (editions · development) · Windows 7 (editions · development) · Windows 8Server 2003 · Server 2008 (Server 2008 R2 · HPC Server 2008 · EBS 2008) · Home Server (Home Server 2011) · MultiPoint Server · Small Business ServerSpecializedWindows Embedded (Automotive · POSReady) · Windows Preinstallation Environment · Windows To Go · Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCsWindows CE Mobile Windows Mobile · Windows PhoneCancelled Related topics Notes:
- ^ These operating systems have both client and server editions.
Categories:- 1985 software
- Discontinued versions of Microsoft Windows
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